Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 1; 2 Kings 2; 2 Kings 3; Psalm 82; 1 Timothy 1
Scripture: 2 Kings 1:9-12
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours — otherwise not."
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.
Observation: What a scene! Elijah is taken up to heaven by God in a chariot of fire. Before he goes, he and Elisha have the exchange detailed in verses 9 and 10 above. Elisha asks Elijah if he may "inherit a double portion of your spirit." "'You have asked a difficult thing,' Elijah said, 'yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours — otherwise not.'"
Elisha does see Elijah as he is taken and the request is apparently granted. Elisha picks up Elijah's cloak (or mantle, as they were called) and uses it to part the waters of the Jordan as Elijah had done just a little while earlier.
What I noticed was Elisha's impassioned words as he saw the surreal scene of Elijah being taken to heaven. "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" I have always wondered why he yells about the Israeli military forces. What do the chariots and horsemen of Israel have to do with what is happening? As I read it this morning and once again pondered the question, it occurred to me that Elisha is having something of a revelation. He is seeing "a chariot of fire and horses of fire" appear from thin air, pick up Elijah, and all of this drawn up to heaven in a whirlwind. Suddenly, he realizes that in all the battles that Israel has fought, these chariots and horses of fire have been fighting for the people of God. Seeing it with his own eyes, he now has a newly reinforced faith and understands that what he has seen is just a sample of the resource available to him and to all those who put their trust in God. Now Elisha can pick up the mantle of Elijah and walk in confidence knowing that the forces of heaven he has supporting him are the true "chariots and horsemen of Israel."
Application: I would love to see the invisible spiritual forces that assist us in advancing the Kingdom of God. But whether seen or unseen, they are real -- and we, whether seeing them or not, will move forward in faith, believing that as we move in God's truth and grace, God will surely provide whatever help we need.
Prayer: Lord, help us to act in the confidence of the knowledge that as we listen to You and move on Your impulse, all the power and resources of Heaven are available to our cause and will be directed as needed by Your mighty hand. Give us a greater boldness knowing that it is not our own ability that determines our success, but it is our availability to and dependence upon You that makes the difference. Help us to use this confidence to make the maximum difference for good in our world.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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